Monster Switches CFO: Company Clarifies (Update)

By Tiernan Ray

Online jobs site Monster Worldwide (MWW) this afternoon after the bell disclosed that its chief financial officer, Timothy T. Yates, will step down, effective yesterday, and will be replaced by James Langrock, presently chief accounting officer. Langrock was formerly head of finance for the Enterprise Mobility division of Motorola Solutions (MSI).

The 8-K filing referencing Yates’s stepping down came a day after Monster reported Q4 revenue that missed analysts’ estimates, prompting a drop of $5.44, or 25%, today in Monster shares, to $15.95.

Update: Monster got in touch following the filing of this report to point out that Yates’s transition — it is not a “departure,” as the initial version of this story stated — was announced yesterday on the company’s conference call, and to point out that Yates is staying on as executive vice president and as a board member indefinitely. “Yates’s departure is in no way related to the company’s Q4 earnings. This is a transition of responsibility. James [Langrock] has been preparing for this new role since he joined the company, and along with our executive team, has been a key contributor to our financial strategy,” said Monster spokesperson Matt Henson.Henson added that Yates had originally signed on only for a year, but that he had agreed to stay longer at the company’s request.

The company referred me to the transcript of last night’s call, in which Monster CEO Salvatore Iannuzzi remarked as follows:

I want to thank Tim for being our CFO over the past three years. When he came on board, the promise was for only one year. And I’m very grateful. I’m also grateful that I will continue to have the privilege of working with Tim in the years to come.

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